One conflict that Waverly and her mother face during the story is when her mother kept “showing her off” in public. Waverly’s mother gets offended and responds with immediate anger. In the story, Rules of the Game, it says, “‘Aii- ya. So shame be with mother?’ She grasped my hand even tighter and glared at me” (Tan). Waverly reacts the same as her mother but for a different reason. Waverly responded that way because she didn’t like her mother bragging about her achievements. She wanted to be seen as humble and not attention seeking. She didn’t want the label of being better or ranked higher than someone else. Her mother saw this situation as an insult. She thought Waverly was embarrassed by her which confused her. She expressed her feelings through dissatisfaction and anger.
Another conflict is how Mrs.Jong doesn’t understand the game and tells Waverly how to win. Mrs.Jong focuses on losing less pieces. Waverly gets annoyed and tells her to learn how to play the game herself. She tells Waverly that she must listen to her in order to win. She tries to give helpful tips but Waverly keeps rejecting her mom’s wisdom.
Throughout the story, Waverly learns to speak up. This really affects the outcome of her interactions. One day, Waverly speaks up and changes the situation. In the text it states “‘I wish you wouldn’t do that, telling everybody i’m your daughter.’” (Waverly). Instead of letting it slide by, she told her mother what she thought. Even though it didn’t turn out how she planned, everything would be different. By asking many questions she becomes interested in the game and why the rules are the way they are “Why can’t they move more steps?” This moves the story along and brings the story to the point where she learns more about the game.
Mrs.Jong had a whole other feeling on this situation. She misunderstood how Waverly was feeling and said, “Embarrassed you be my daughter?” This caused her and Waverly to get mad at the other. Mrs.Jong believes if something isn’t good enough for someone else it’s not good enough for her and her family; “She not want it,we not want it.” This shows how she tries to have a lot of pride but she has pride for many wrong reasons.
Waverly and Mrs.Jong both learn different things. Waverly grows by learning how to play chess. She progresses when she learns new strategies, which makes her a better chess player. She also grows in character because she gains her independence and voice. In the story, whenever her mother said something that she didn’t agree with, she always kept quiet but by the end of the story, she stood up to her mother.
Mrs. Jong changes slightly throughout the story because when Waverly first started to win her chess matches, her mother was satisfied but not impressed. Mrs. Jong focused on winning. Her exact words were, “Next time win more, lose less.” Waverly explained that you have to sometimes lose pieces in order to win. Her mother never seemed to be impressed but by the end, her mother was boasting about her.
Waverly and her mother’s conflict emphasizes that communication is a big part of their relationship. Waverly was mad and disappointed with her mom who was showing her off. Mrs.Jong was mad and disappointed with her daughter who didn’t want her abilities shown off. They didn’t communicate well and the results were many conflicts between them. As a human, Waverly finally expressed her feelings about her mother showing off Waverly’s abilities.
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